Our life is a continuous exercise of interacting with others and with the environment around us.

or coming to terms with ourselves, being at peace with ourselves.

Nature has provided us with an in-built mechanism of survival which perceives everything happening externally as a threat.Our mind then thinks things over and decides whether there is a threat to our physical body or to our self esteem.

We notice that we don't feel threatened when someone speaks to us with compassion and love but, even then, sometimes a doubt creeps in... "What does he want?"

The body responds to perceived stress by stimulating arousal. It does this by increasing adrenalin so that the heart beats faster and sends more blood to the muscles. The muscles then become tense in readiness to fight (perhaps with your partner) or run (if you are being chased by a mad dog).

The response depends firstly on our personality type.

Type A persons are ambitious, hyperactive and are always working, often by the clock to meet deadlines. They are perfectionists and like imposing it on others who would prefer to have a more relaxed life. They talk fast, interrupt, cannot listen to others, are often restless and can be impatient.

Type A cannot sit and relax. They fill their day with work or thinking of projects they have to do. They cannot switch off.

They are passionate about everything. Everything is a challenge and a contest with them, even with their loved ones. They crash when they cannot achieve.

In Ayurveda, these personality types are called Vatta-Pitta type the air and fire infernos. They suffer from heart attacks.

Type B, on the other hand, tend to be more laid back. They are better listeners and make provision for enjoyable quality time and loving interaction. They are not inclined to create deadlines and tend not to hurry.

In Ayurveda, these people are called the Kapha type the water and earthy type. They have less heart attacks.

Which body type or personality are you?

You may have a bit of both. The remedy for living a happier, more relaxed life, is to create a balance between creative stress and too much apathy.

Some level of healthy stress is necessary for optimum performance. When faced by a lion, you can either choose to be eaten up or run for your life.